


Smiles

by magicianparrish



Series: Garrison Days [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Post-Kerberos Mission, shiro is only mentioned in a photo, you get some lance pidge and hunk shenanigans though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 06:36:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15943793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianparrish/pseuds/magicianparrish
Summary: Hunk decided to intercede at that moment.“Do you think he’s ever smiled in his life?” he pondered.“I doubt it. The guys got the biggest stick up his ass,” Lance added. He remembered how scared he was that first day of the Garrison. “Dude scared the shit out of the new cadets the first day. And then started teaching! Who does that?”“Uh, teachers?” Hunk quipped.Lance waved it away. “Not my point. And apparently, he freaked out on Qian one time.”Hunk raised his eyebrows. “Commander Wali, freaked out? Have you actually met the guy? He’s stone cold.”“He wasn’t always like that,” Pidge muttered under his breath.“What do you mean?” Lance said, pouncing on that.His brown eyes widened behind his giant glasses. “Nothing!"_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Or that fic where Pidge, Lance and Hunk go searching into Adam's history and find out some things. Post Kerberos mission, but pre-season 1.





	Smiles

**Author's Note:**

> So season seven crash landed me into reading all the adashi fics because I like to Suffer. And so I wrote something for it myself. Though I will say there is no explicit Adam/Shiro in this fic, it's obviously implied. This is post-Kerberos mission, and Shiro has been declared MIA/KIA. 
> 
> They didn't give a lot on Adam for me to work with, so I just tried to gauge him as best I could. This is my first fic in the fandom, so I hope you all enjoy it! (also not beta'd so all mistakes are mine).

The class of young cadets watched as the door to their classroom slid open at exactly two minutes to eight, and their instructor walked in with his satchel thrown over his shoulder with his hand gripping in a deathlock and the other holding a mug of coffee that still had steam coming out of it. 

The man was tall, and his officer uniform was pristine looking, buttoned all the way to his neck, and the gold markings of being a senior officer glaring off the light in the room. He put down his things and took a sip of the coffee in his mug before sighing. His light brown hair was threaded with a few grays, and on his face sat a frown. The amber eyes behind his glasses were sharp as a knife. 

He picked up a remote from one of the desk drawers and pointed it towards the back of the classroom, lighting up a projection onto the large screen in the front. Then he dug into his bag and took out a giant stack of paper, to the surprise of many of the cadets. Paper was not something seen often in schools, but this instructor seemed to be more old school, even though he wasn’t old at all. 

At exactly eight, the professor used that remote and the locks to the door clicked shut into place. There was a sense of slight unease and anxiousness surrounding the young recruits for their first day at the Galaxy Garrison. 

The instructor cleared his throat, gaining the attention of all his students. He scanned the room quickly before speaking. 

“Welcome to Fundamentals of Mathematics. I am your instructor, Commander Wali. This is the class that the rest of your journey through the Garrison will be the foundation on. It is imperative that you pass this class in order to move forward. Now, I am going to pass syllabi out to you, which have all the answers to questions you may have on them.” 

He walked towards the desks and handed the stack of papers out to all the students. They all looked at it with a daunting eye, as they read when his office hours were, what the premise of the class was, and how much each exam and quiz was worth. 

“Let me be clear with you all,” he said, his deep voice commanding attention. “You may not skip any class that I have in session. Attendance will be taken every day. You may not be late for my class. At eight hundred on the dot, that door will lock and anyone late will not be allowed entrance. If you wish to be late, then do not show up at all. If you have a reasonable excuse make sure you have proof to show me. This is a military academy, Cadets. You will be treated as such, remember that. Quizzes will happen on a weekly basis, always on Friday at the beginning of class. We will have an exam after every three units we go over. There will be no retakes. I expect you to take notes in class and ask questions. If you have a question after class hours, you may come seek me in my office from sixteen to eighteen hundred hours every day.” 

It was silent enough to hear a pin drop in the classroom. The twelve and thirteen year old new Cadets felt overwhelmed. “Are we clear, Cadets?” 

A chorus of “yes, Sir,” came out. 

His amber eyes once again scanned the sea of orange and white before nodding. He took out a holopad, and lit it up to take attendance. As every student responded he pressed the check mark next to their name and official photo ID. 

“Open your notebooks, let’s begin.”

 

* * *

 

Cadet Qian hesitated outside the office of Commander Wali. He had followed all the navigational instructions written on the walls of the Garrison, that led him to A. Wali. Even the placard outside the door did not have his first name written on it. Not that was of any importance.

The door was shut, and he glanced down at the watch face on his wrist, which said it was 16:05; the time allotted for office hours with Commander Wali. The blinds were down, so he couldn’t even see inside if he was there or not. For a moment he debated mentally whether or not he should leave and come back at a different time, but he desperately needed help with something he did not understand well, and he had a quiz tomorrow he needed to pass. So he steeled his nerves and knocked. 

At first, there was no answer, and then the door slid open to reveal Commander Wali on the other side. He had his signature frown on his face and his golden eyes looked down at Qian. His brown hair was swept back and he raised an eyebrow. 

“Come in, Cadet,” he invited. He walked away and sat down behind his desk, which was covered in papers, but in a meticulous way. 

Qian was surprised at how, lived in the office was. In the back shelf behind Commander Wali were medals of all kinds, as well as a shadow box with a Japan flag in it, folded triangularly. He found that particular because Commander Wali was not Japanese. On his desk in a little mug was a tiny black, red and green flag with a temple on it surrounded by leaves and words in a language he did not know. 

“Why are you still standing up? Take a seat, Cadet Qian,” Commander Wali said, breaking him out of his thoughts. 

He shook his head and quickly sat himself down on one of the comfortable seats in front of the desk. Commander Wali was looking at Qian expectantly. He felt himself heating up under the intense gaze. Why did he have to be so intimidating? He wasn’t even that much older than him. 

Qian opened his mouth to ask a question on the unit, but what came out instead was not that. “Why do you have Japanese flag in a shadowbox?” 

Commander Wali seemed surprised and caught off guard. His brown eyes widened behind his glasses and his eyebrows arched up. It was only for a second before he put up his stone facade again. Qian felt the cold waves emanating from him. 

“That is none of your business, Cadet. I suggest you stay on track and ask what you wanted from me.” 

He wanted to, he really did. But it was like his brain and mouth were just not cooperating with each other at that moment. He kept staring at that shadow box. Next to it was a decorative medal of honor. The kind one only got when they were killed in action honorably. He tried to recount someone who had died recently from Japan. Then it clicked. 

“Did you know Commander Shirogane?” he gasped. 

Qian knew he had dug himself into a grave. Commander Wali had a fire in his eyes that he had never seen before. He was furious. 

“Do  _ not _ mention him, Cadet,” he hissed. “If you are not going to ask any academia related questions then you best get out and be ready for that exam tomorrow.” 

Qian made a note to himself not to mention the fallen pilot of the Kerberos mission again. “I’m sorry!” 

He dug out his textbook and opened up to the page he had bookmarked. He laid it out on the desk and pointed to the things he didn’t understand. 

“I just want some clarification on this section for tomorrow before the exam,” he practically stuttered out. 

Commander Wali took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose hitching up his glasses for a moment. He muttered something under his breath in a language he did not know. When he looked at Qian again it was back to the stone indifference he usually wore. 

“Okay, let me get some paper out for you.”  

 

* * *

 

Lance walked into the simulation room with his roommate Hunk in tow. They had just come from the commissary, from lunch. Lance was ready to go prove himself as a better pilot than just a mere cargo handler. He had just snagged an opening for fighter pilot training after Keith had gotten himself kicked out of the Garrison a few months ago.

“Do you think Iverson is going to perhaps not berate us today?” Hunk asked with a hopeful tone to his voice. 

Lance let out a scoff. “That will be the day aliens come to Earth. We just have to work together, and we’ll be flying smoothly.” 

A bunch of other cadets was already waiting around for the class to start. He looked at the simulation pod with a  new determination to prove himself. At exactly thirteen hundred, the doors from the instructor’s wing opened up. But instead of Iverson walking through, it was someone else. 

“Oh no. Not Commander Wali,” Hunk muttered with a grimace on his face. 

Lance looked on curiously. He remembered him from his first year at the Garrison, as he had taught the fundamentals of math class all cadets had to take. He had scared him then, and he still looked just as scary now. Not in the big and bulky type of way, but in the way he held himself and demanded respect way. The way of a true military officer. His light brown and streaked gray hair was hanging in his face, and he adjusted his glasses as he turned on his holopad in his hand. 

“Where’s Commander Iverson?” a cadet piped up. 

Commander Wali glanced up from the pad, the blue glow reflecting off his glasses and illuminating his tan skin. Then he looked back down again, strolling and typing something on it. 

“The Commander had something of importance to take up with higher-ups, and asked me to sub the class,” he curtly explained. 

“But, you aren’t a pilot,” another kid quipped. 

Commander Wali stopped what he was doing, and let out a sigh between gritted teeth. Lance was standing pretty close to him as he muttered something under his breath. 

“Not that it is any of your business, but I am a trained fighter pilot and graduated second in my class,” he told them all, “I just prefer to teach.” 

That shut the class up while Commander Wali continued to do pre-class duties. Once he was done he turned towards Hunk. He nodded his head. 

“You,” he spoke. 

Hunk’s eyes widened and he turned his head both ways before pointing a finger at himself. “Me?” 

“Yes, Cadet, you,” he sighed. “What simulations is Iverson making you all do?” 

“Oh, uh, a rescue mission to Kerberos, Sir.” 

Lance watched as Commander Wali straightened up and he stared at Hunk for a moment, making the bigger man nervous. His eyes seemed far away. Then he nodded his head. 

“What’s your name?” he asked as he started to tap away on the holopad. 

“Hunk Garrett, Sir.” 

He pulled up Hunk’s photo ID and tapped a checkmark next to it. Then a bunch of words and records came up. 

“Cadets Garrett, McClain and Gunderson, stand forward,” he commanded.

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge make their way in front of Commander Wali. Lance watched as he eyed Pidge, looking him up and down and narrowing his eyes slightly. Pidge was acting like she was trying to be normal. His scrutiny ended and he opened up the doors to the simulator. 

“You three are up. Try not to explode this time,” he commented in a wry tone. 

Lance turned around, shocked but before he could get a word in, Commander Wali shut the door to begin. 

What happened was they did end up crashing into the tundra of Kerberos. It was the same story as before: Lance was too airy and arrogant, Pidge fought him on every command and did what he wanted, and Hunk threw up because he ate too much at lunch. 

When they had exited the simulator, Commander Wali did not look impressed with them. He typed in all the errors they had made into the holopad. 

“I expected better from you three,” he commented with a hint of disappointment. He snuck a glance at Pidge for just a second, but Lance caught it. He had a lot of questions to ask Pidge when they left the room. 

And he did exactly that. As soon as they were out the doors, Lance cornered him. “Do you know Commander Wali or something?” 

Pidge shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, I’ve had him for the fundamentals class, but that’s it.” 

Lance wasn’t buying it but didn’t feel like putting the pressure on. Hunk decided to intercede at that moment. 

“Do you think he’s ever smiled in his life?” he pondered. 

“I doubt it. The guys got the biggest stick up his ass,” Lance added. He remembered how scared he was that first day of the Garrison. “Dude scared the shit out of the new cadets the first day. And then started teaching! Who does that?” 

“Uh, teachers?” Hunk quipped. 

Lance waved it away. “Not my point. And apparently, he freaked out on Qian one time.” 

Hunk raised his eyebrows. “Commander Wali, freaked out? Have you actually met the guy? He’s stone cold.” 

“He wasn’t always like that,” Pidge muttered under his breath. 

“What do you mean?” Lance said, pouncing on that. 

His brown eyes widened behind his giant glasses. “Nothing! I’ve seen him smile before. With Matt Holt.” 

Lance arched an eyebrow. “How do you know Matt Holt? He’s like at least four years your senior.” 

He visibly blanched. “Hey, I can hack into the files and find out more on him. Always fun to get dirt on the instructors right?” He deflected. 

Lance pursed his lips and crossed his arms. But Pidge made a convincing argument. It was always fun. 

“You win this time Gunderson.” 

Pidge smiled. 

 

* * *

 

Lance was impressed by Pidge’s hacking abilities. He was typing away on his computer screen, doing code and whatever to get the information he wanted. Lance had a very rudimentary knowledge of this, but he still didn’t understand what he was doing. Hunk seemed to have a better grasp, but he was in freak out mode. Standing up and looking out every few minutes making their activity look even more conspicuous.

“Oh, I don’t think this is a good idea guys,” Hunk complained. 

Pidge waved Hunk’s worries but not taking his eyes off the screen. “Relax, Hunk I’ve gotten into a secured server. Even if they found out a hacking occurred they can’t track us anyway.” 

Hunk sat on the bed and crossed his legs. Then he reached up and re-tied his band around his head. “What did Commander Wali ever do to you guys anyway?” 

“He had the audacity to fail me in six quizzes!” Lance exclaimed.

“Did you ever go to him for help then?” Hunk questioned. 

Lance huffed. “No.” 

“Then that seems like it’s more your fault than his.” 

Lance glared at Hunk. “Stop being devil’s advocate. He made those quizzes impossible!” 

Pidge shrugged his shoulders. “I passed all of them.” 

Lance scoffed. “Well not everyone can be some crazy mathematical genius, Pidge.” 

Pide rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” Then he perked up. “Got it!” 

All three of them huddled together to look at Pidge’s screen. He pulled up Commander Wali’s file and biography on hand. Lance was surprised on how much they kept on record at the Garrison. On the left-hand corner was Commander Wali’s photo ID. He was in the grey beret which flattened some of his hair over his forehead and he still wore his glasses. He looked so much younger in that photo than he did now. Even though Lance swore he wasn’t that old, to begin with. 

“Commander Adam Wali,” Pidge read aloud. 

“His first name is Adam? Interesting,” Hunk commented. Now he seemed to be into it. 

Lance leaned in further. “His birthday is January second,” he muttered, and when he saw the year he was born he was surprised. “He’s only twenty-five? There should be no gray hairs on that man’s head!” 

“He was born in,” Hunk said but faltered at the pronunciation. “Kandahar, I hope I said that right, Afghanistan.”  

“It says he has a twin brother named Hakim and two sisters named Rashida and Fatima. Imagine if his twin is identical, that’d be a sight to see,” Hunk continued. 

“I bet I can find some photos or something,” Pidge said as he started to type away again. 

A minute later Pidge let out another triumphant hum before pulling up some album. Lance noticed it was labeled in a language he did not understand, and it looked kind of like Arabic. 

“Where did you find this?” he asked Pidge. 

“Just a simple hack into his computer system. I do wonder what the album says.” 

Hunk let out a gasp. “Oh god it better not be porn!” 

“Hunk!” Both Pidge and Lance yelled at the same time. 

“What?” Hunk whined, “we can’t read what it says. For all we know it’s his dirty album.” 

“No instructor would have a dirty album on a computer monitored by the Garrison, Hunk,” Pidge said in a dry tone. “Also do not ever make me think about that again.” 

Lance was stuck with that thought in his head now. Pidge seemed to have the same reservation as he clicked on the album to open it up. Instead of finding nudes it was just like a normal photo album. 

Hunk let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God I was wrong.” 

He leaned forward to see the screen. “Aww, but look at all of these photos,” he cooed.

The first one was a photo of four people next to each other, their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders. There were to men in the middle flanked by two women. They were all dressed in beautiful clothes. They all had big smiles on their faces. Lance zoomed in on the photo to see the two guys. He let out a laugh. 

“Oh my god, he  _ is _ an identical twin! Look at that!” he exclaimed. 

It took him a second to determine which one was Commander Wali, but the glasses were a dead give away. His brother was not wearing a pair, and his hair was cut shorter to his head. Commander Wali was also a few inches taller than his brother. Even his sisters were tall looking next to the two of them.   

They went through a few more photos, all featuring at least one of his other siblings. In all of them, Commander Wali was smiling showing off perfect teeth. It transformed his entire face when he smiled. Then they got to the last photo. 

Lance found himself shocked at what he was seeing. It was a photo of Commander Wali kissing someone on the cheek; another man. Both held their hands out showing off the glint of simple silver bands on their left ring fingers. The other man was just a tad shorter than Commander Wali, and his pale skin was blushing red, but he had a smile going all the way across his face. On the sides were his siblings throwing something in the air that looked reminiscent of confetti. They all looked jubilant in the photo. 

What got Lance though was… 

“Holy shit. That’s Shiro, the pilot of the Kerberos mission,” Hunk breathed out. 

There was a tense silence in the room between the three of them. Lance was trying to process the information that he just saw. Everything started to fall into place suddenly into his mind. Commander Wali was the significant other to the famed pilot Takashi Shirogane, who was declared dead on the fatal Kerberos mission. 

Pidge closed his computer screen slowly. His face looked solemn, lips pulled into a frown and eyebrow scrunched. Pidge was always on edge when Kerberos was mentioned too, but Lance didn’t know why. 

“This was a mistake,” he muttered. 

“It was your idea in the first place,” Lance retorted. 

Pidge turned his head, his brown eyes glaring at Lance. “And it was a mistake. We don’t mention this to anyone, got it?” 

Lance threw his hands up in surrender. “Lips are sealed. I wouldn’t want to poke that bear anyway.” 

* * *

When Lance got roped into rescuing Shiro six months later, he couldn’t help but think of Commander Wali. He wondered if he would ever smile again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all liked it! I personally think of Adam as from Afghanistan, and I don't know why, but I just do. So the language he mutters and labels the album is Pashto. His last name of Wali also means protector, helper, and saint in Arabic. Adam is a teacher so I thought it'd fit, but also have a twinge of irony thrown in there. And him having siblings is something I want too. Also give me him taller thank Shiro, please. 
> 
> I also think he saw right through Pidge's disguise, but just elected to ignore it. I tried to show him as a dynamic person, like he's a hardass in class, but will still help his students if they come to him for it because he still cares. And to show that he loved to smile and have fun before shit hit the fan. Hopefully, I got that across kinda. 
> 
> And I hope I got the Hunk, Pidge and Lance dynamic down. I watched the first episode to try and refresh my memory lol And Pidge is still referred to as him because her cover hadn't been blown yet lol 
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


End file.
